Patil reviews flood situation in Orissa

New Delhi, Sept 23 (ANI): Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil undertook an aerial survey of flood affected areas of Orissa to day. Union minister Chandra Shekhar, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Leader of Opposition J B Patnaik, state Congress president Jaydev Jena and senior Home ministry officials accompanied Patil. Patil also held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and discussed the latest flood situation. The delegation covered areas starting from the lower catchment areas of river Mahanadi up to the delta plains where large number of river branches presented a complex system of embankments and canal networks. Meanwhile, the Navy has joined relief and rescue operations in the worst flood-hit Kendrapada district. An additional 100-member National Disaster Rapid Action Force is now operating in the district. Four helicopters are engaged in air dropping in the marooned villages of Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada District for the fourth day. The death toll has gone upto 30 in the state. In Uttar Pradesh, a high alert has been sounded in around 200 villages in five western districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bagpat, Ghaziabad and Gautambuddha Nagar following a flood threat from Yamuna. The threat of flood has been created in low-lying villages of these districts after 41,000 cusecs of water was discharged in Yamuna from Tajewala barrage in Haryana. People have been evacuated to safer places. Vahicular trafic has been disrupted on Lucknow- Baharich - Gonda road in eastern UP. In several districts PAC has been deployed for relief and resue work. Quoting official sources AIR correspondent reports that due to heavy rainfall and water release from different barrages rivers including Yamuna, Sharda, Ghagra and Saryu have swelled and crossed the danger level at several places in the state. Railway tracks have been damaged at several places in Lakhimpur Kheri and Barabanki districts. Swelling rivers have also affected the lives in Faizabad, Sitapur, Agra and Mathra districts. (ANI)